Leaked LG G Pro Lite Dual may bring dual-SIM to Optimus G Pro

The LG Optimus G Pro may be getting a dual-SIM version called LG G Pro Lite Dual (now that's quite a mouthful). The rumor suggests the new device will keep the 5.5" True HD IPS+ display of 1080p resolution, but will demote the camera to 8MP resolution (still with BSI sensor).

It's not entirely clear why this model bears the "Lite" moniker, as the camera downgrade probably isn't enough to justify it alone. Unfortunately, there's no info on the chipset, but the software will offer many of the features we saw on the LG G2, including KnockOn (wake device by double-tapping), Guest mode and QSlide (floating mini-apps with optional transparency).

The rumor also adds that the battery will be unchanged at 3,140mAh and there will be a "Dual Speaker" that has improved sound reproduction for both high and low frequencies (but it doesn’t sound like we're talking about stereo speakers).

According to Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru who published the rumor, the LG G Pro Lite Dual will hit Russia in mid-October at RUR13,000 ($400) or about half the current price of the LG Optimus G Pro in the country.

The HTC One Max will probably have a dual-SIM version too, we might have a dual-SIM phablet battle on our hands.

Read More

Unknown 09:40  No comment

BlackBerry’s co-founder rumored to consider a bid for the company

In lieu of the disastrous preliminary fiscal Q2 2014 results, a word got out about a surprising new potential option for the future of BlackBerry. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mike Lazaridis, the co-founder and former co-CEO of the struggling Canadian manufacturer is considering a bid to save his former company and take it private.

It is already a known fact that BlackBerry is looking for a buyer. Reportedly, Mr. Lazaridis has separately approached the private equity giants Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group about potentially making an offer for the company. However, talks on the subject have been preliminary, so nothing is certain.

A co-founder of BlackBerry in 1985, Mike Lazaridis is one of the company’s largest individual shareholders. His significant stake in the company will certainly matter in the bidding process.

Of course, it must also be noted that Mike Lazaridis, in a tandem with Jim Balsillie ran BlackBerry during the period when the company’s business took a bad turn. Mr. Lazaridis is viewed by many as a key factor for the current state of BlackBerry. Him and Jim Balsillie were replaced by the company’s current chief, Thorsten Heins in January 2012.

Read More

Unknown 03:02  No comment

LG unveils Vu 3 with 4:3 screen, stylus and Snapdragon 800 chipset

LG had a phablet before the Optimus G Pro, the LG Optimus Vu, and two generations of it, at that. Now the company has put out its third iteration, and following its new naming convention it's just LG Vu 3 (no "Optimus").

The LG Vu 3 drops the squarish looks of the first two iterations and goes for a more rounded look that is similar to the Optimus G Pro (but not the LG G2 - there are hardware buttons below the screen). The Vu family has always had 4:3 screens and this one is no exception.

This time around it's got a 5.2" IPS LCD screen of 1,280 x 960 resoluiton which results in 307ppi pixel density. LG claims this aspect is better for reading text (both documents and web pages). Like previous Vu's, this one works with a stylus with a rubber tip, and there's no additional digitizer for it.

Despite the lower screen resolution, the LG Vu 3 uses the same chipset as the G2 – a powerful Snapdragon 800 with four Krait 400 CPU cores and Adreno 330 GPU.

  
LG Vu 3 • the translucent QuickView cover

It has a 13MP camera too, though the press release makes no mention of optical image stabilization. The LG Vu 3 still borrows a few things from its G2 counterpart, including LTE-Advanced (up to 150Mbps downlink), KnockOn (wake device by double-tapping the screen), Guest mode and QLink (send notifications between the device and a tablet).

The LG Vu 3 also works with QuickView covers, but unlike the covers for the LG G2 there's no window. Instead the whole cover is translucent and the screen contents shines through.

The squarish phablet will be released in Q4 (if we're reading the Google Translated press release right), but there are no details regarding availability.

Read More

Unknown 03:02  No comment

LG D820 certified by the FCC, might be the Nexus 5

It's almost time for a new Nexus phone and despite speculations that Motorola might be making the Nexus 5, LG has filed for FCC certifications of a device, the "D820", that just might be it.

The docs show photos of the back – the wireless charging coil specifically – and they show the characteristic oversized circular hole for the camera lens, the same as the one on the device spotted during the Android KitKat statue unveiling.

The docs also give out some of the dimensions of the device – 131.9 x 68.2 mm – and the diagonal of the screen - 126mm or a hair under 5". That doesn’t bode well for the rumors that a LG-made Nexus 5 would be based on the LG G2 (the G2 has a 5.2-inch sreen).

The firmware used for the tests is noted as M8974A-0.0.19.0.0.1. This is relevant because MS8974A is a Snapdragon 800 chipset. There's also a reference to aosp_hammerhead-userdebugKyeLimePieFACTORYeng.sangjoon84.lee.20130618.015154 (yes, with the typo). This build could from before the KitKat cross-promotion was announced.

Read More

Unknown 23:34  No comment

LG G2 to cost €599 in Europe, listing confirms

LG uncovered its new smartphone beast, the G2 an NYC press event yesterday. Back then LG focused more on the ultra-slim bezel, the impressive design and the lengthy list of hot features of the smartphone, but didn't say anything about pricing. Well, thanks to some online retailers that information is no longer a mystery.

The LG G2 has been spotted on a German retailer and according to the listing, the 16GB variant of the SIM-free G2 will cost €599 (about $800), while the 32 GB unlocked version will sell for €629 (about $840). Those prices seem pretty reasonable and we suspect they will carry over to the rest of Europe.

Sadly, there is no official word on the availability of the LG G2 on the Old continent, but is should be no later than September.

We have already got our hands dirty with the LG G2, you can check our hands-on article if you haven't done so already.

Read More

Unknown 01:05  No comment

More LG Optimus G2 blurry shots leak ahead of launch

Photos of the upcoming LG Optimus G2 have surfaced and while they are of pretty poor quality they still manage to portray how the company's upcoming flagship looks like.

At the front, there's an obvious lack of both capacitive and physical buttons. This leaves on-screen capacitive buttons as the only option, which was confirmed earlier by a couple of leaked screenshots of the Optimus G2 UI.

At the back, there's the main camera coupled with LED on the right side as well as the interesting "+" and "-" buttons. It's believed they are related to the functionality of the camera, but nothing has been even confirmed yet. At the bottom, there's an accent from a different kind of plastic, but that probably isn't releated to the functionality of the phone.

The LG Optimus G2 has been seen in better photos than these, but the key thing here is that they align with previous leaks of the smartphone. Rumor has it the Optimus G2 would sport a 5.2" FullHD display with around 423 ppi density, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset and 2 gigs of RAM. It's also likely that its 13 MP camera will come with Optical Image Stabilization.

All will become clear on August 7 when LG will hold the Optimus G2 launch event.

Read More

Unknown 07:51  No comment